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Please note that Beckingham Marshes is not currently open to the public. A short visitor trail, site interpretation and a viewing screen are being installed during late spring 2012 and the trail will open sometime during summer 2012.
Beckingham Marshes
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Wildlife wins!
Beckingham Marshes is a major habitat creation project on the River Trent floodplain and is a partnership project between the RSPB and The Environment Agency. We are now in the third year of a five year project to create a wet grassland habitat and provide a visitor infrastructure appropriate for the site.
Once established, this area will support a variety of breeding waders, wildfowl, water voles, brown hares, dragonflies, barn owls and hobbies.
The engineering project started in 2010 by creating a series of new ditches and pools. These were further complimented by the installation of three wind-powered water pumps in 2011.
Opportunities for people
Beckingham Marshes is an oasis of calm within a heavily-industrialised landscape and will offer the local community a place where they can escape to and find peace.
They will connect with this site in a whole range of ways, from volunteering to visiting for pure enjoyment, from school groups of children, hungry for fun and learning experiences, to students and practitioners requiring a more detailed and deeper knowledge and understanding of how the site works. Local community groups will use the site as their 'canvas' for an exciting array of projects.
The experience will be one of wide-open landscapes, enormous skies and resplendent sunsets. Visitors will enjoy large flocks of wading birds and wildfowl in winter and in the summer, fluttering butterflies, and darting dragonflies with red-trousered hobbies in hot pursuit.
In partnership with the Old Willow Works, the site will take people back in time and explore the history of this area as far back as 10,000 years. Through archaeological research, the peat soils will unearth an exciting pre-history for the whole community to discover. They will learn more about the wildlife and people that inhabited and worked this land for hundreds of years.
Next steps
With habitat creation well underway, we can now concentrate on the creation and installation of the site's visitor infrastructure. A short visitor trail will lead you past our 'discovery domes' and children's trail, to our newly-constructed viewing platform. From here you will be able to get an overview of the site and observe its wildlife.
Funding
Beckingham Marshes nature reserve is kindly supported by funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Waste Recycling Environmental Limited (WREN) that distributes landfill tax credits for Waste Recycling Group Ltd (WRG), Natural England, Environment Agency, Biffa Award and various other trusts, RSPB local groups and supporters.
Where is Beckingham Marshes?
Important note
This site is one of several that due to its size, location and/or conservation sensitivity is not capable of accommodating large numbers of visitors (unless stated).
Where possible, we have indicated the nearest equivalent RSPB nature reserve suitable for visiting. If you require further information, please use the contact details provided.
This does not affect any statutory rights of access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act or Land Reform (Scotland) Act legislation.
For more information